21119: Evidence that tattooing, plucking the eyebrows and filing the teeth is haraam

What is the Islamic ruling on women reducing their eyebrows? Please quote the specific ahaadeeth if possible.

Published Date: 2002-07-04

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

Allaah has forbidden women to remove any part of the hair of
their eyebrows; this action is called al-namas in Arabic, and it is
haraam because of the following evidence:

1 – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“They (all those who worship others than Allaah) invoke
nothing but female deities besides Him (Allaah), and they invoke nothing but
Shaytaan (Satan), a persistent rebel!

Allaah cursed him. And he [Shaytaan (Satan)] said: ‘I will
take an appointed portion of your slaves.

Verily, I will mislead them, and surely, I will arouse in
them false desires; and certainly, I will order them to slit the ears of
cattle, and indeed I will order them to change the nature created by
Allaah.’ And whoever takes Shaytaan (Satan) as a Wali (protector or helper)
instead of Allaah, has surely, suffered a manifest loss”

[al-Nisa’ 4:117-119]

The relevant point in this verse is that Iblees will tell
people to change the creation of Allaah. Some of the mufassireen interpreted
it by saying that what is meant here in this verse is tattooing, plucking
the eyebrows and filing the teeth, as we shall see below.

Al-Qurtubi said in his commentary on this verse:

A group said what was meant by changing the creation of
Allaah was tattooing and other things that are done for the purpose of
beautification. This was stated by Ibn Mas’ood and al-Hasan.

Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 5/392

2 – It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah said: “Allaah has cursed
the women who do tattoos and those who ask for tattoos to be done, those who
ask for their eyebrows to be plucked, and the women ask for their teeth to
be filed for the purpose of beautification, changing the creation of
Allaah.” A woman from the tribe of Bani Asad whose name was Umm Ya’qoob
heard of that and she came and said, “I have heard that you have cursed So
and so and So and so.” He said, “Why should I not curse those whom the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed
and who are mentioned in the Book of Allaah?’ She said, “I have read what is
between the two covers [of the Qur’aan], and I did not find anything in it
like what you have said.” He said, “If you have read it, have you not read
that Allaah says,

She said, “Of course.” He said, “He forbade that.” She said,
“I think your wife does it.” He said, “Go and look.” So she went and looked
and she did not see what she was looking for. He said, “If she had been like
that, she would not be with us.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4604; Muslim, 2125

Al-Qurtubi said concerning the meaning of tattooing:

Tattooing is done on the hand; it involves piercing the back
of the hand with a needle and filling it with kohl or another substance so
that it changes colour. [Translator’s note: this refers to the type of
tattooing known at that time]

Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 5/392.

Ibn Hajar said concerning the meaning of plucking the
eyebrows:

The mutanammisah is the one who asks another to pluck
her eyebrows, and the naamisah is the one who does it. Al-nimaas
means removing the hair of the face with tweezers. It was said that the word
nimaas refers specifically to removing hair from the eyebrows in order to
reduce them or make them straight. Abu Dawood said in al-Sunan:
al-naamisah is the one who plucks the eyebrows in order to reduce them.

Fath al-Baari, 10/377

It was said concerning the meaning of those who ask for their
teeth to be filed (al-mutafallijaat)

This refers to one who asks for her teeth to be filed or who
does that. Falj means making a gap between two teeth and tafalluj
means making a gap between two attached things by means of filing or the
like. This was usually done to the incisor and the eyetooth for the purpose
of beautification. A woman might do this if her teeth were close together so
that she would have gaps between her teeth, or an old woman might have do to
make it look as if she were younger, because young women usually have gaps
between their teeth that disappear as the woman gets older.

Fath al-Baari, 10/372

Al-Qurtubi said:

With regard to all of these matters, the ahaadeeth indicate
that those who do them are cursed and that they are major sins. But there is
some difference of scholarly opinion concerning the reason why they are
forbidden. It was said that it is because it is a kind of deception, or
because it is changing the creation of Allaah, as Ibn Mas’ood said. This is
more correct, and it also includes the first meaning. And it was said that
what is prohibited is what is permanent, because it is changing the creation
of Allaah; with regard to what is not permanent, such as kohl and make-up,
the scholars have permitted that.